September 20, 2012

TOP TIP: THIS IS OUR LAST NEWSLETTER FOR 2012 SO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK TO STAY IN TOUCH!

Yes, it really is the final issue, and we hope you’ve found the newsletters useful throughout the summer. Don’t forget that as an Essex graduate, you can use all the services and support offered by the Employability & Careers Centre for up to three years, so keep in touch. Even if you don’t live in the area anymore, we offer appointments via Skype and phone.

In the meantime, keep reading for the final round-up of opportunities, news and advice.

Job spot

Waitrose Graduate Leadership scheme

Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership, have a graduate scheme that has been designed to find the potential future leaders and board directors of the business. They are looking for inspirational, commercially-minded, strategic-thinking visionaries, with their sights set on the future, and the goal of being a leader.

Their three year programme will develop candidates’ talent by giving insight and experience across as much of the business as possible. Successful graduates will spend time working on projects in a broad spectrum of functions, in retail and head office, as well as participating in training alongside graduates from other parts of the John Lewis Partnership.

The successful candidates will also spend time studying for a postgraduate level qualification, to give them theoretical business management knowledge, in addition to the hands-on experience.

Careers Adviser’s top tips

We’ve given you a range of tips over the summer, key things to help you stay motivated in your job seeking, and make the most of opportunities. Here’s a reminder of the key points we feel you should remember:

Be focused in your job search. Identify what opportunities really suit you and invest your time and effort into applying for those. This will be far more fruitful than lots of half-hearted attempts.

Be creative in your job seeking. Not all jobs are advertised, especially those with SMEs. Some jobs take effort to find, but it can be worth it. Take advantage of Social Media, get networking and do your research.

When sending your CV, or completing an application, ensure you tailor it to the opportunity you’re applying for. Clearly show each employer that you tick all their boxes.

Lots of employers have many stages to their selection process and preparation is vital to success. Do background research, and if likely to be faced with online tests, start practicing!

Finally, don’t give up. Just because you don’t hear back from every employer, doesn’t mean your application was terrible. The graduate labour market is competitive, but there are jobs out there, and sooner or later, there will be one for you.

For more in depth advice relating to these points, and related resources, you can review the previous issues of the GradFocus newsletter.

Can you help us?

We’d really like to hear from you. How are you getting on? Do you have any advice you could share with other graduates, and with students who will be in your shoes next year? Whether it’s things you’ve learned from your job seeking experiences, or good news stories such as how you got a graduate job or other opportunity, we’d love you to get in touch. You can do so using the reply box at the bottom of this page, or email careers@essex.ac.uk with Gradfocus as the subject. Thank you.

What’s new?

In many regions around the world there is a huge and growing demand for English language teaching and a need for quality teachers to meet this. A new programme, the English Teaching Graduate Scheme from the British Council aims to help provide unemployed graduates (from the last three years) with a gateway into an exciting and dynamic career which gives an insight into other cultures and communities, while also helping people around the world to meet their own goals and aspirations.

Successful applicants will receive a British Council training grant of 50% of the course fee (tuition only) of a Cambridge CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL course, to be undertaken in the UK only. They will also be given a place on an additional one-day teacher training course run by the British Council, which will provide guidance about starting a career as an English teacher overseas or in the UK.

The scheme is currently open for applications, but you need to act fast: CLOSING DATE 1ST OCTOBER!

Good news

As this is the last issue, and we’ve already equipped you with a wealth of hints and tips for graduate job seeking, we thought we would round off the season with some snippets of good news to show you that it’s not all doom and gloom and give you a positive outlook for the future!

Because you’re worth it

The Graduate Market in 2012 survey by High Fliers Research shows that almost half of graduate employers expected to recruit more graduates this year, a good sign of the ongoing improvements in graduate recruitment since the big dip at the height of the recession. Further good news, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, is that graduate starting salaries are set to rise in 2013 after remaining static for a number of years.

Yes, definitely worth it

New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests that about 60% of UK employers don’t offer any routes into their organisations for non-graduates, so having a degree is definitely in your favour. The CIPD’s research, based on a survey of almost 800 employers, reveals that 71% of employers believe they have a role to play in tackling youth unemployment, with 56% planning to recruit young people in the coming year. Further good news suggests that employers who have taken on young people have found it a positive experience, with 90% satisfied with those they have recruited.

On the up

As mentioned, signs are that graduate recruitment is still improving, with growth in particular in public sector organisations, engineering & industrial companies, IT & telecommunications firms, high street banks and retailers. With September seeing the start of a new cycle in graduate recruitment, it’s a key time to be making applications. Many of the top employers, who receive huge volumes of applications, will stop considering applicants when they fulfil their needs, even if this is before their original deadlines.

Over and out

As we said, we really hope our series of newsletters has proved helpful to you over the summer. We wish you all the best for the future and invite you to continue to avail of the support available to you through the Careers Centre. From support to look for jobs at the right level for you, to preparing for interviews and everything in between, don’t forget we’re here for you. You can also continue to take advantage of our internships team, have a look at their facebook page for details. Farewell for now…and all the best for the future.